Anger is a basic human emotion. Depending on how it is managed and expressed, anger can have positive or negative consequences. Awareness of angry feelings can be helpful as it can signal when our rights are being violated or our needs are being ignored by others. Anger can also help to energize and motivate us to work to address problems with another person or to change our life situation. However, there are potential negative consequences of anger when it is not managed or expressed appropriately. Prolonged or intense anger contributes to physical conditions such as insomnia, loss of appetite, chronic fatigue, headaches, stomach aches, tightness in the throat, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure digestive problems, heart disease.
Typical symptoms of anger management issues include:
- yelling
- cursing
- threatening others
- pushing
- shoving
- hitting
- hostility
- resentment
- rage
- anxiety
- numbness
- depression
- crying spells
- low self esteem
- abuse of alcohol or drugs
Throughout our lives, we improve our skills by taking “courses” and practicing what we learn. If you played sports, you were coached in the basics and practiced them until they became rote. At work, you were shown how to perform tasks, then got better and better as you repeated the process. Similarly, controlling one’s emotions is another skill, one that gets little or no attention until failure to do so results in trouble.
If you are considering anger management counseling, you may have a respectable job and care deeply for your family and friends, even though you may lash out at them. So why do you do it? More than likely, your problem managing anger is due to various factors, some of which are hidden from awareness. The goal of anger management therapy is to isolate the triggers that ignite your rage in the present.However, as you start to get a meaningful understanding of your problem, past experiences are often explored, including any toxic childhood experiences or dysfunctional parenting to which you were expos
Learning to deal with feelings of anger, rather than running away from them will enhance your feelings of empowerment. It may help to reframe or reevaluate the situation(s). To begin, start by looking at your choices and what you do have control over. You cannot control other people, but you can control your behavior and reactions to events.
Relaxation skills like deep breathing can also offer a natural way to calm a racing pulse and mind.
Writing your feelings down in a private journal is an additional step you can take to lower your level of distress.
Anger management counseling can be a valuable for people of all ages, like the ancient Chinese proverb says, “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”
Search UB counselors who specialize in anger management therapy